Montana

I have been marveling at the variety of visible birds from my front porch, here in Taos, New Mexico. I see multiple types of woodpeckers, all the varieties of Dark-Eyed Juncos, Magpies, Crows, Calcons, Harriers, and Finches. Did I mention Blue Jays, Stellar's Jays,Western and Mountain Bluebirds, as well as Nuthatches, Titmouses, and, as of yet, unidentified flycatchers. I started this course to help me learn how to quickly identify them, as I am fascinated by them. We also had a sweet, little Caliope Hummingbird that came every day for weeks. Those little gems are greatly missed. When I moved here in August, we had all these amazing birds (many different from those mentioned above). One day, I came out and everything was quiet. It lasted for days. We barely saw any birds. I thought the nearby fires might have had something to do with it. We had a cold snap, in Sept, as well, and many birds were found dead that week. But over the course of the next two weeks, I became aware of new songs. Before I knew it, our birds had gone south, and an entire new group of birds had appeared. I'm 45, and had never witnessed the migration in that way before. Amazing!